Pornhub owner MindGeek purchased by private equity firm

A new private equity firm based in Ottawa says it has acquired the company behind one of the world's largest pornography site, Pornhub.

Ethical Capital Partners on Thursday announced its purchase of MindGeek, which owns a large portfolio of adult entertainment properties, for an undisclosed amount.

MindGeek found itself embroiled in controversy after a New York Times opinion piece detailed allegations of sexual exploitation on platforms including Pornhub. The Montreal-based company is frequently ranked in the dozen-most visited websites in the world, ahead of Amazon, Netflix and TikTok.

The scrutiny sparked deletion of millions of explicit videos by Pornhub and prompted Visa and MasterCard to sever ties and Parliament to launch an inquiry.